The Russian satellite system’s short-term future seems bright, but it may face
competition from new surface-based projects.

The Russian global satellite system’s short-term future seems bright, but it may face competition from new surface-based projects.

A draft statement from the space agency Roscosmos has reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to maintaining its Glonass (Global Satellite Navigation System) for at least another 15 years.

Prepared on the instructions of a working group set up by Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov, this is in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices.

The Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin reminded the group that Russia had promised to maintain Glonass for 15 years back in 1996. However, that promise was not kept, since funding for the replacement satellite fleet was irregular.

By 2001, only six operational satellites remained in orbit, instead of the 24 units required for a fully fledged global service.

The future of Glonass looks relatively safe for the next few years. Today there are 31 satellites in orbit: 24 are being used for operational purposes, two are undergoing maintenance, four are in reserve and one in test mode. Three more satellites are in reserve on the ground and scheduled for launch in the first half of next year.

But Roscosmos is worried about long-term funding. “The funding proposed by the Ministry of Finance will lead to the deterioration of the Glonass orbital fleet (to 10 satellites by 2016–2018), as well as to delays with deployment of the new Glonass-ä satellites,” Mr Popovkin wrote in a letter to President Vladimir Putin in August this year.

Insufficient federal funding for Glonass is not the only threat to the satellite fleet. A bureaucratic struggle is under way for a revision of the 2012–2020 Glonass federal programme.

Aleksandr Gurko, head of the non-profit partnership Agency for Development and Use of Navigation Technology, NP Glonass, has proposed rewriting the programme to win more money for the implementation of surface-based telemetric applications.

If this was approved, less money would then be available for the space-based segment. Most significantly, Mr Surkov views Mr Gurko’s initiative as worthy of attention and has already ordered amendments to the federal programme to be drafted.

Securing Russia’s commitment to maintaining Glonass at the required level benefits Roscosmos and Mr Popovkin: it effectively guarantees continued funding for the programme.

It is not a coincidence that Mr Popovkin initiated this statement rather than the Ministry of Transport or Rosaviatsia, the Federal Air Transport Agency – both of which are more closely tied to the ICAO.

Civil aviation expert Semyon Belgorodsky said the shelf life of the current Glonass-å satellites had turned out to be longer than that of the satellites used in the Nineties – seven years compared to three.

Consequently, the promise given to the international community to maintain the satellite fleet has a much higher chance of being kept this time around.